Curb Appeal, Design Changes, and Plant Warranty
Landscape Designer Patti Sanders presents a showcase landscape design installation at a St. Augustine residence that involved curb appeal, transplantings, adjustments to the landscaping design during the install, and clarification of the terms of the landscape plant warranty. “It is a huge house down here close to the beach,” said Sanders. “So a lot of the plants we chose are salt resistant.” People seek out landscape designers that they trust will assist them in choosing the right plants for the right place in the landscape.
Curb Appeal
The homeowner is a realtor who knows the importance of curb appeal to property value. “It’s all about how your house shows on camera,” said Sanders. “It’s about how your house shows online if you are trying to sell. They’re not selling, but being a realtor, she knows the outside is essential. It adds value to your home as well.” Besides being aesthetically pleasing, all of the plants suggested to the homeowner on the design should be choices that will thrive in the landscape. If plants require special care, the landscape designer must provide that information to the homeowner. As a result, all plant choices consider the appearance, impact in the landscape, and growing conditions.
Adjusting Landscaping Plan And Transplants
“We’ve actually changed the drawing at least twice pretty majorly, but mostly not design-wise, but mainly just plant material that the homeowner wanted to have a little different choice in,…” said Sanders. “Sometimes we have to design on the fly. We want to follow your plan as much as possible. Originally we had proposed that we put some liriope and podocarpus over here (side of the yard facing neighbor), but we got enough of the orange bird of paradise from the backyard and transplanting here. It looks fantastic. So again, plants can change. We are very accommodating and flexible, and we need you guys involved as much as possible because this is another idea that the homeowner had to fill this spot. So it ended up working well.”
Front Yard
“So with our plant choices, we kept it pretty simplistic did a lot of color towards the front,” said Sanders. “We’ve made the (flower) bed a little bit smaller. It’s going to look a lot cleaner. And then our plant choices if we look around here (garage side of the house facing the road) we’ve got a little bit of color as well, but we tried to keep it looking clean. The coonties that are up here in these palms are transplants from by the front door. The coonties are a Florida native, and they look more in a natural area here than they did upfront. We did keep the bottlebrush, which is a highlighted plant, really nice and attracts hummingbirds, but added some apostle iris, and we’ve got some roses and liriope. And by the front doors, we’ve added some ixora, some pentas, and she already had some existing blue daze. Now, remember we are very close to the beach. So again, everything has to be salt tolerant. And the ixora is salt tolerant. It is not as cold tolerant, but being here by the beach, it’s a plant we can choose, especially when it’s that close to the front of the building because this (front porch) gets protected.”
Backyard
“It was just a bunch of stuff all pushed together,” said Sanders. “We went a little bit more symmetrical and a little bit to block the neighbors. This big bird of paradise here was actually in a corner lying on the ground. It had broken out of its pot. These two guys (birds of paradise) were in pots, and we wanted to put them in the ground. So what we’ve added is some heliconia, false bird of paradise for a tropical look, and lantana, which is another hummingbird and butterfly plant that is bright and colorful.” Behind the pool a new queen palm was installed. “There was one that wasn’t doing so hot,” said Sanders. “So we’ve replaced it.” The fresh, new layout with tropical foliage and vibrant colors sets a new tone for the homeowner from their balcony overlooking the pool and entertaining guests or relaxing poolside.
Sideyard
“Down in here, we had a lot of Asiatic jasmines,” said Sanders. “We had originally proposed to cut out a lot of this, but she liked this little area here. So all we did was highlight this big white wall give some interest in the podocarpus and some camellias, which are fantastic plants. Camellias bloom from the Fall through the Winter into the early Spring, and you don’t see many blooming plants that do that. Another area that got added kind of last-minute was this little corner area here where we’ve added some more camellias, the yuletide, which is for Christmas (blooming). It’s a really dark green color (foliage). It has a fantastic little pink bloom, almost red, which kind of goes with the Stromanthe.” The designer does multiple walkarounds the entire property with the client on a multiple-day installation to ensure they are on the same page with the homeowner.
Maintaining Your Landscape Plant Warranty
“One important fact is that we give you guys a six-month plant warranty,” said Sanders. “We can extend that to a year if you go with our maintenance program.” To explore pricing to extend your plant warranty and sign up for the Earth Works lawn maintenance programs get a free instant quote with a visit to the Earth Works Lawn Care page.
“With shared responsibility, issues such as disease or infestation can also be hard to pin on one or the other entity,” according to Landscape Architecture Magazine. “If the owner is going to take over maintenance while the plants are under the installing contractor’s warranty, the owner needs to know how to carry out responsible landscape maintenance or hire an entity that does. “
A properly working irrigation system is a requirement within the terms of the Earth Works landscape plant warranty. “That’s key because these brand new plants have to be watered at least once a day for the first 30 days,” said Sanders. “If they don’t get watered properly, we can’t warranty our plants. So whether you decide to go with us for irrigation or someone else, you have to make sure you’re watering is proper.”
To book a fully customized landscape design, contact Earth Works to schedule a design consultation and consider viewing the design consultation process video.
For comprehensive solutions to your specific lawn, garden and landscaping need contact Earth Works of Jacksonville online and at 904-996-0712.
Earth Works operates a retail Garden Center/Plant Nursery in Jacksonville and provides landscaping, hardscaping, water features, lawn care service, lawn spraying, and drainage solutions.
Proudly serving clients in Northeast Florida including Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Nocatee, St. Johns, Fleming Island, Orange Park, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Amelia Island, Fernandina, and St. Augustine.
Happy Gardening!